Sunday, August 30, 2015

We had such a fun day starting with singing you happy Birthday in your crib! You were sooo excited and had the biggest smile on your face.

Then we decided to have Waffle Time on the beach!! It was so pretty and so fun to be at the beach in the morning for breakfast. You loved seeing the waves and putting your feet in. You normally run straight for the waves but today you had fun being the sand and walking with daddy.

Daddy took you to see a fisherman and you loved seeing him with all of his gear! You also got to see a "really big boat"! So you loved that too!

We left the beach when it started to rain a little and headed for the park. As soon as we arrived it stopped raining and we got to play. You went down a "really big slide" and loved it! You also really enjoyed watching the trucks go by and picking up "really big pinecones"!

We then headed to Grammy and Dats so they could give you your birthday presents. You got some cute clothes, bitty baby accessories and and adorable pink kitchen playset that was fully loaded with play food! You LOVED it!!!

It was then time for lunch!! We went to your fav, Pine Lakes! You had so much fun as the birthday girl and all eyes were on you! We even brought another cake so we could sing happy birthday and celebrate!

After nap we headed to nana and buddy's for a yummy dinner and MORE presents!! They surprised you with a whole room in their house that is just for you and Ella when she gets older!

It has a grocery store, double doll stroller, basketball goal and even a princess four wheeler that you call your motorcycle!! ☺️

We had so much fun playing in your new room! After dinner we had ANOTHER cake that had Spider-Man, memo and Cookie Monster on it!! It was AWESOME and you loved it.

We came home and rocked you extra long on the night of your second birthday. We had a fun filled busy long day and it was son nice to rock, read and pray with you. You and your sister are the greatest gifts God could give your daddy and u. We are so blessed to have you in our life and you make us better people. We had so much fun with you today and are so. So proud of you and ALWAYS will be no matter what.

Some quick stats about you on your second birthday!!

You weigh 26 pounds (45%)

You are 34 inches tall (70%)

You are in size 4 diapers with a little bit of interest in using the potty.

You wear size 18-24 month clothes and 2T.

You can say a million different words and are starting you form pretty long sentences.

You say, "Hold you", "Rock you", "help you" when you want any of those things. It's pretty much my fav thing!

The day before Hadley turned 2 we had a "Bubbles and Brunch" birthday party at Grammys house. It was sooo much fun and a day I will always smile thinking about.

We started off the party with breakfast foods and of course doughnuts! Hadley is OBSESSED with doughnuts so i knew they had to make an appearance at her 2nd bday. I had a doughnut cake made from charleston and Hadley got a little doughnut tower of her very own. I think it was a hit!

Ella and Hadley had matching "bubble" dresses that were so cute. When Hadley saw Ella all dressed up she looked at her and said "Ella pretty!!!"! She is the cutest! Then when Hadley put on her matching dress she was patting it saying "Ella" and smiling so big. I love the way Hadley's loves Ella!

After some yummy doughnut time, we had a quick wardrobe change to the cutest shirt aunt Liney got and headed out to the bubbles!!!

There was a bubble refill station, a bubble wrap dance party, a giant bubble pool, a "bubble" ball pit, a water table with bubble bath inside, and her teepee complete with Spider-Man, a shark, and choo choo train!! All of the kids had so much fun and the adults had fun watching!!

Our families, Lillian, Decklan and Davis, Wils and Elle, Caroline Page, and Caroline all came with their families and had so much fun. I loved seeing Hadley play with all of the other kids and it actually made feel a lot more excited about school starting this week.

One of the funniest moments of he party was when Charlie was putting Hadley inside a bubble and she plopped down and started trying to swim in the little pool of bubble mixture! It was sooooo funny. She stood up, was soaking wet and took off running to the next fun thing to play with. Eventually we had to empty the bubble pool and fill it with regular water so Hadley could play!

Wils and Elle took over the bubble wrap dance floor and did some pretty amazing dancing and singing to frozen songs! It was the cutest thing to watch!! The ball pit was also a huge hit and they all loved belly flopping in!!

Hadley played and played soooo hard and had the best day. My heart grew a little bit when everyone was singing her Happy Birthday and she had the biggest smile on her face. She even (almost) blew out the birthday candles on her own. It was such a fun day and I wish we could do it all over again and have so much fun!

Tomorrow you will turn TWO. Daddy and I can't believe you have been with us for two whole years! (I'm sure we will say this every birthday no matter how old you are!). These past two years have been, without a doubt, the best years of our lives. You have brought so much joy to us and to our whole family.

This time last year we were so nervous but so so excited for your arrival. We knew you would be coming soon so we were doing our best to prepare! We had no idea how our lives were about to change.

In just this past year alone you have blossomed into a smart, loving, kind, generous little girl. You have the best personality and we love seeing you change each day. We never know what you will say or do next but we knew it will bring a smile to our faces.

You have taught us how to be parents and that's one of the greatest lessons we have ever learned. Seeing you with your little sister makes us both feel whole and complete. You are so sweet to her and we can tell that she already loves you just as much as you love her.

You are the cutest little girl with hazel eyes and the sweetest light brown curls. You are so smart and can somehow count to TEN! But more importantly than those things, you have a gentle spirit and a kind, loving, and giving heart. The lord has blessed us so much with you and will continue to bless us as you grow. It is my prayer, in your second year, that you will understand that Jesus loves you so much. That mommy and daddy will always be there for you no matter what, but when we aren't physically with you, know that Jesus is always with you. I pray that you will put all of your trust, worries and fears in him. I pray that you will learn to thank Him for this wonderful life he has given all of us. I pray that you will continue to have that gentle spirit and loving heart.

Hadley, you are one of our greatest accomplishments and we are so beyond thankful for you. We love you with everything that we have and are looking so forward to watching you grow.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

I can't believe you are already a month old. Time had flown by. You are the sweetest baby. You have brought so much joy to our lives and have blessed us so much.

You weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces at our two week dr appointment and I tried weighing you myself and you were about 10 pounds at 4 weeks. You are in the 95th percentile for your height which is way different from your big sister!

We just switched to size 1 diapers and are still in newborn clothes!

You are sleeping GREAT!! We have only had maybe 2 super bad nights. The rest you have woken up about twice, nursed and gone right back to sleep. Last night you only woke up ONCE!! It was awesome. When you first came home from the hospital, you slept with us in the bed and was so nice. I loved that time with you and it is something I will always hold close to my heart.

Now we swaddle you and you sleep in the Rock and play, which you love. I never had one with Hadley but I wish I had!! The white noise and rocking help you sleep so well and I think we may need to get a noise machine once you move to your room!!

We are having a little trouble nursing. I think you are getting plenty but your latch is a little off. Hopefully we will be getting help this week with it. Your daddy and sister have fed you a couple bottles which Hadley LOVED! She calls it your water bottle and was so in to giving it to you. It was so sweet.

Hadley is so sweet to you and loves holding you. Every night she kisses you goodnight and each morning you are the first thing she asks for. After Hadley goes to Grammys or nanas, she comes running back in the house saying "See Ella!!!!!!!" But she pronounces your name like "Ayyah"!!! She loves for mommy and daddy to hold you and is so protective of you. If someone else picks you up she immediately screams "Mommy hold her!!" . She loves to gives you kisses and huggies.

She loves to help give you baths and we even got brave and gave you both a bath together!!

It is so sweet to see you both together and I can't wait to see your relationship grow.

We love you more than words can express and are so happy you are in our lives. You are the perfect addition to our family and I can't wait to see you grow in this next month!

Sunday, August 2, 2015

On July 23rd, 2015, at 7:20 in the morning, Elizabeth Ann was born!! She weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 20 inches long.

It was one of the scariest and most amazing moments of my life. I had to have a repeat c section so it was scary thinking about the surgery for so long and wondering what it was going to be like awake since I was put to sleep when Hadley was born. The dr and Charlie kept reassuring me that it was going to be a much better experience and everything would go smoothly. They were so right. It was so amazing being able to hear Ella's first cry and hold her immediately after she was born. She was perfect and I immediately fell so in love with her.

After she was delivered we went to the recovery room where Charlie, Ella and i could all be together. It was perfect. She was healthy and I couldn't have been happier. I got to be there for her first bath and she never left my side.

All of the family got to come in and we were able to introduce Ella to them. When Hadley was born, everyone saw her before I was able to so it was such an awesome moment for me to be able to introduce her to the family.

The next day, Hadley came to meet her new little sister. It was so sweet and she was so good to her. She pointed out Ella's eyes, nose and mouth and was so excited. Ella have Hadley a special baby doll and book and Hadley gave Ella a baby blanket that is just like her special blanket. I loved them giving each other gifts. I was kind of weirded out about Hadley being in the hospital so she didn't stay long and went back to having fun playing with her Grammy.

We stayed in the hospital for two nights and we were all soooo ready to go home! When Hadley was born, we could have stayed there forever but this time we were ready to be in our own beds and start our life as a family of FOUR.

Ella's birth taught me that it doesn't matter how the baby comes into the world as long as they are healthy. Having a healthy baby outweighs everything else. Hadleys birth left me a little traumatized and it was something I would think about and get so upset. Ella's birth completely changed that for me. I am so at peace now with both births and I realized that people put so much pressure on how a baby is born that they may loose sight of the most important thing of the baby being healthy.

Ella is the perfect addition to our family and I can't imagine life without her. She came into this crazy world and immediately our hearts grew with so much love for her. It's crazy that I can love 3 people sooo much at the same time.

A southern girl who is finding out what life, marriage and motherhood is like with her childhood sweetheart and sweet baby girl. We are learning each day the importance of life, love, friendship and what it means to "dance in the rain".